


Stranded

by so_iluv1d



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5sos AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Cashton, Cutting, Drummer Ashton, Guitars, High School AU, M/M, Muke - Freeform, Nerd Luke, Photography, Popular Calum, Popular Michael, Protective Michael, Secret Relationship, Shy Ashton, Soccer Player Calum, Verbal Abuse, ashton likes it when people watch him, bullied luke, dorky Luke, ex bestfriends, goalie michael, guitar luke, guitar michael, hompophobic parents, hurt ashton, i know their parents arent like this in real life, soccer player ashton, soccer player michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 19:58:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5177777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/so_iluv1d/pseuds/so_iluv1d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"How come you never told me you were good at soccer?" Ashton hears the voice of his ex-best friend Calum ask. </p><p>"Hmm... Let me think," he says, looking up from his locker, "Oh I know, it might have something to do with the fact that you haven't spoken a single word to me since the summer before freshman year." </p><p>Ashton Irwin is an unpopular Junior in high school with a passion for photography and drumming. He goes through everyday with his best friend, Luke Hemmings, at his side. Luke actually happens to be in a secret relationship with the most popular boy in school, Michael Clifford. Coincidentally, Michael's equally popular best friend just so happens to be Ashton's ex-best friend, Calum Hood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stranded

**Author's Note:**

> This fic took me a long time to write, but I love it so much. Here's another sucky high school au

_(The boys look like they do now, except for I messed with the heights a little bit and Ashton starts out with the man bun length)_

 

Ashton Irwin grumbles to himself as he walks into another day of his junior year in high school. He's wearing black skinny jeans, a red plaid flannel, and a black sleeveless top. He is also wearing a red bandanna, taming his wild golden curls. The 5'11" boy has a black backpack slung over his shoulder and is carrying a duffle bag which is containing his soccer stuff.

That's what he's grumpy about. School soccer tryouts were today. Ashton is, reluctantly, going to try out. The issue isn't the actual sport, Ashton's great at soccer. He's played club since the start of freshman year. The issue is the captain of the team, Calum Hood. Who is known as one of the most popular boys in school and who also happens to be his ex-best friend and the reason he's avoided trying out for the team the past two years. But unfortunately he needs sports credits and he is not good at any other sport. So trying out for the soccer team is his only option.

"Aw Ashton.. Don't be worried, you're going to be great!" Luke rings out happily, slinging an arm around his shoulder and joining him on his walk to his locker.

"You and I both know that's not what I'm upset about," Ashton says, sighing as he reaches his locker.

"I'm sorry Ash," Luke says leaning back against the locker next to him.

Luke Hemmings is Ashton's best friend. He's a 6'4" awkward dork with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"It's alright Lukey, it's not your fault that he's a douchebag," he says shoving his stuff in his locker.

"But if it helps I'll be there. Then we can jam at your house after tryouts." Ashton shuts his locker and turns to Luke after adjusting his backpack on his shoulder, rolling his eyes at him.

"I'll take you up on that jam session offer... But the only reason you actually want to watch tryouts is because Michael Clifford, aka YOUR BOYFRIEND, is the goalie."

"SHHHH!!! Ash!!" Ashton laughs as Luke whines, making wild shushing motions and moving to cover his mouth.

Michael Clifford is also one of the most popular boys in school. He is a 6'3" pale boy with green eyes and he likes to die his hair. Currently it is red. He's loud, sexy, funny, has a few tattoos, and displays a confidence that attracts everyone's attention. He also happens to be a secret relationship with dorky outcast Luke Hemmings.

"Relax Luke! Your secrets safe with me," Ashton says, pushing the frantic blonde's hands away, "Michael and I are the only people that know about it other than you."

"Well actually, I think Calum knows too," Luke points out as the bell rings.

"Ew, don't say his name," Ashton says, scrunching his nose up as they start walking towards their history class.

"Fine. I think the douchebag knows too."

"That's better." Luke rolls his eyes at the hazel eyed boy. But he completely understands where the guy is coming from. Today he decided on wearing a grey nirvana sleeveless top and a pair of black skinny jeans. It was chilly outside so he was carrying a black jacket incase he needed it.

He sighs as he adjusts the jacket in his arms. The whole secret relationship thing with Michael is kind of hard for him. He just wants to let the whole world know that Michael Clifford wanted to date him. But instead, when in public they're acting like they don't even know each other. Which is actually fine with him, he doesn't want Michael to get made fun of for dating the tall clumsy awkward human that he is. The last thing he wanted to do was force Michael into something he wasn't ready for or uncomfortable with. But it hurts when Michael never acknowledges him at school. It makes him feel invisible, like he was before.

He shakes the bad thoughts out of his head and looks at the bright side. At the end of the day, he isn't invisible. The most popular boy in school sneaks into his room at night and holds him close. Michael makes him feel special. Also, even though Luke is taller than Michael, he loves being the little spoon. Michael is more than happy to be the big spoon. As much as Luke hates to admit it, Michael is more of the 'guy' in the relationship.

"OI! HEMMINGS!" Drake, a jock, shouts shoving him hard into the lockers.

"Ow! What was that for?" Luke asks, rubbing his throbbing shoulder. Although he is super tall, Luke is not very strong and unfortunately he is easily pushed around. Instead of making him intimidating, all Luke's height does is make him a giant target for bullies.

"No reason faggot. Here let me do it again," he says, shoving Luke so hard into the lockers that he falls on the floor.

"Leave him alone fucktard," Ashton says, standing up for his friend. His heart is beating like crazy. He immediately becomes nervous. He knows standing up for Luke won't do any good but he does it anyway. Ashton gets bullied as well. Not as bad as Luke. However, Ashton is still a target. He's always nervous around large groups of people, especially people he doesn't know well. People picked up on his anxiety and started picking on him.

Today Ashton's still nervous. But he's trying to build up his confidence for soccer tryouts. He won't make it on the team if he's the awkward man out.

"What did you say Irwin? Are you actually talking to me? Let me shut you up," Drake says punching him in the jaw. He then watched as Drake turned around and started walking down the hall towards the History classroom.

Ashton sighs as he immediately starts to feel a small bruise start to form right above his jawline, on the right side of his face. To be honest, he didn't think it hurt that badly though, he's had worse.

"You alright Luke?" Ashton asks, helping his fallen friend up off the ground.

"Yeah, my shoulder is going to get a big bruise though," Luke says, frowning at the already bruising patch of skin on his upper arm and left shoulder.

"Hey it's okay... At least you don't have a bruise on your face before trying out for soccer. I'm sure the coach will be happy to put a walking punching bag on the team," Ashton says as the two boys start walking down the rest of the hall towards their history class room.

"First of all, you're not a walking punching bag. It's just one bruise. Second of all, bruises can be cool. Wear it like a battle scar. They can make you seem tough."

"Tell that to your shoulder."

"Hey, stop being a whiny bitch and be confident alright. You're amazing Ash and you're going to make it on the team. Alright? Now my shoulder, on the other hand, hurts like a mother trucker."

"I'm sorry mate. But hey, Michael's in this class! I bet you he would kiss it better," Ashton says teasingly. He laughs when Luke makes a face at him in response as they walk into the History classroom.

The bell rings just as they walk in and there are only two seats left. The seats were next to each other and in the middle of the second row to the back of the classroom. They also happened to be in front of Michael and Calum. But to make things even more exciting, they were behind Drake and another jock named Gray.

"Well, this is just fan-fucking-tastic." Ashton murmurs to Luke sarcastically, causing the blue-eyed boy to giggle.

"What was that Mr. Irwin?" Mr. Sawyer, the teacher, asks.

Ashton blushes as the whole classes attention turns on him. He looks to the floor and twiddles his fingers, feeling his nerves start to rise at all the attention. These people are going to judge him. They are going to kick around the pieces of his already broken heart.

"Nothing sir," he says quietly.

"That's what I thought. Take your seats boys."

Ashton and Luke quickly walk towards the two seats. Ashton, being the nice friend he is, let's Luke sit in front of Michael while he goes to sit in front of Calum. He makes sure not to make eye contact with the dark haired boy before sitting down in the seat in front of him.

"Okay class, talk among yourselves quietly while I take roll," Mr. Sawyer says. Ashton looks at Luke to find him smiling like an idiot. He makes eye contact with the jolly boy and quirks his eyebrow up in question. Ashton follows his gaze as Luke glances down towards his hands. Then he sees what Luke is happy about. His hand was back under Michael's desk and interlaced with Michael's. He couldn't help but smile at the two boys. They honestly were such a cute couple.

The smile was quickly wiped off his face when Drake and Gray decided to turn around. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Michael squeeze Luke's hand before letting go and he saw the light fade from Luke's eyes as he put his hand back in his own lap.

"Aye Ashton... Looks like Drake got you good," Gray says reaching towards his bruise. "It was a weak punch. I've gotten worse. Annnnd don't touch me," Ashton says shoving his hand away.

"Why? What are you going to do? I already shove Hemmings around whenever I feel like it. You have nothing on me." Drake says. Ashton can see from the corner of his eye how Luke sighs sadly and how Michael clenches his fists tightly. Ashton feels his nerves fade away and a burst of confidence rising. He knows he can't keep his mouth shut.

"Well, I do have a knife. But I forgot it on your mom's bedside table after I fucked her last night." Ashton says. Everyone within hearing distance laughs.

"Burn!" Luke holds his hand up to high five him and Ashton does so.

Drake and Gray roll their eyes before turning back around.

Luke immediately turns to Ashton.

"Where on earth did that come from?" He asks him.

"I have absolutely know idea. I don't even play for that team," he says sending the two boys into another fit of laughter. Ashton is honestly shocked that he said that, he hasn't felt that amount of confidence in a long time.

"But seriously is your face okay?"

"Yeah, it was honestly a weak punch. My little sister Lauren punched me harder when me and Calu- err my friend stole all her Halloween candy and ate it in seventh grade."

"Your friend?" Luke asks with a knowing look. Ashton's told Luke everything. Luke knows better than anyone about the incident between Ashton and Calum.

"Yeah well, he was my friend. We aren't friends anymore," Ashton says, giving him a warning look, "But that doesn't matter to me now. On a different subject, is your shoulder okay?"

"I guess so, it really hurts though," Luke says showing him his left shoulder. It now had light purple bruising on the side and red surrounding it. Luke knows what Ashton is doing. Ashton had already asked him about his shoulder earlier. He knows that Ashton is asking it again to bring it to Michael's attention.

"That's going to turn worse. I'll give you some ice when we go to my house," Ashton says concerned. The bruise honestly looked like it was going to be a bad one.

"That would be great, thanks."

"I thought you were going to watch tryouts," Michael asks Luke quietly. Luke looks around quickly, making sure no one was paying attention before responding to his boyfriend.

"Who said I wasn't?"

"Well if you said you're going to Ashton's house..."

Luke shoots a quick look at Ashton to ask if he could tell Michael. Ashton immediately feels his shoulders tense as his nerves flare up, but he nods anyways. It wasn't a secret. He knew they were going to find out when he showed up at tryouts. However, he is worried about how the team will treat him and especially how Calum will treat him. He keeps his gaze focused on Michael and Luke, knowing he wouldn't be able to focus if he caught a glimpse of Calum.

"Well, Ashton's going to try out too. So I'm going to go home with him after," Luke says.

"Really? You're going to try out?" Michael directs the question towards Ashton.

"Yeah, gotta get those sports credits in sometime," Ashton responds. He likes Michael. He thinks he is honestly a nice guy.

"Well I guess I'll see you there then. What position do you play?" "Usually I'm a midfielder, but I can do anything really. Well, except for goalie so you don't have to worry about that."

"Phew.." Michael laughs, showing mock relief.

Ashton sees how Luke is looking at Michael like he's the sun. They made a good couple. Which reminds him... He looks around to double check no one is paying attention.

"But on a serious note, Michael," Ashton says looking him straight in the eye.

"Yes..?" Michael says, slightly nervously. Ashton knows he has a scary look in his eyes right now.

"If you hurt Luke in any way, I'll honestly kill you. I'll skin you alive and roast your remains over a fire," he says, deadly serious.

"I won't."

"You better not," Ashton says seriously before giggling, "Sorry, I had to give you the best friend talk."

"No I get it, it's fine." Michael says before the teacher directs the classes attention back towards him. 

Ashton couldn't pay any attention to the lesson. He was too busy thinking about being this close to Calum. The boy consumed his mind.

Calum Hood, aka the 6'3" tan and handsome jerk face that used to be his best friend. Calum had dark brown hair with a blonde streak in the front and his eyes were a beautiful chocolate brown. Yes he does think he has beautiful eyes and he wants to shoot himself for it. The boys muscles and tattoos didn't help that either.

Calum and Ashton have been neighbors since they were babies. They lived right next to each other growing up, so of course they were bound to be best friends. They climbed the roofs into each others bedrooms all the time since their windows were facing each other. In nap time at kindergarten, they would refuse to go to sleep unless they were next to each other. The two boys were inseparable. They knew everything about each other. Around sixth grade was the time Ashton realized he preferred boys over girls and the time he also realized that he was quite infatuated with his best friend. But he never mentioned anything to Calum about it. He was honestly scared to, so he didn't. Until he eventually did. He told Calum he was gay at the start of eighth grade. Calum was fine with it, if anything he was even more protective of Ashton than he was before. But then there was that day in the summer before high school. **_The day that **every** thing changed_**.

The two boys were playing soccer in Calum's backyard. At the time, Ashton wasn't the best at it. But Calum loved it and was amazing at the sport. The sprinklers were on, so the boys were shirtless and they were covered in mud. But they were both happy. After a while, Calum wanted to practice some shots so he made Ashton be goalie. Ashton sucked at goalie, both boys knew that. So after Calum scored about 10 goals on him, Ashton tackled the boy. The move took Calum by surprise and sent them tumbling to the ground. They were in a fit of laughter as they started playfully rolling around and wrestling with each other. But then they got tired of that and just rested where they were. Calum laying on his back with Ashton resting his head on his chest, stomach facing the ground. Although they were dirty, they were both blissful and they wouldn't want to be anywhere else. It was the last good memory Ashton had with Calum. Then, after they held eye contact for ten seconds, **_everything went wrong_**.

_Calum's happy gaze turned into a glare as he roughly shoved Ashton off of him._

_"Get off me you queer," Calum sneered, getting up and standing over him._

_Ashton was so confused. Calum had never had an issue with him before._

_“W-what?” Ashton thought he was in a nightmare. His worst fear was coming to life. He slowly stood up to face the raging Calum._

_“You heard me! I don’t want you spreading the disease anymore. Go away!” Calum shoved Ashton, causing him to stumble._

_“Calum why?” Ashton asked tears streaming down his face. "I hate you! Never talk to me again.” “Why?” Ashton gasped. The pain he felt inside made it hard for him to breathe._

_“I don’t want to associate with a disease spreading faggot like you. This whole friendship was a mistake. I hate you.” Calum shoved him again, this time so hard he fell on the ground._

_Ashton struggled to get up. But once he did, he shot one last look into the eyes of Calum to see if there was any shred of the boy he thought he knew. But all he saw was no emotion and was met with the tan boys cold hard gaze._

_“Y-you meant so much to me. I can’t believe I actually-” Ashton cut himself off and ran out of Calum’s backyard. The crying muddy boy ran straight to his house and started banging frantically on the front door. As soon as his mother opened the door, he collapsed into her arms. She cleaned him up and comforted him. He was in so much pain._

The loss of Calum caused Ashton’s insecurity and lead him to cutting himself because he wasn’t ‘good enough for Calum. It led to his anxiety around people and it left him alone, _stranded_. It also was the reason Ashton started to play club soccer, which wasn’t actually a bad thing. Soccer was the only piece of Calum that he had left.

His life turned up when he met Luke. The clumsy blonde boy was like a gift from heaven. He made Ashton laugh and smile. Ashton loves Luke. But its a different love than what he felt for Calum.

Fortunately, he had met Luke at the movies a couple days before school started so he had a friend going in. The start of school was the honest separation between Calum and Ashton. Calum met Michael and joined the popular crowd seemingly without looking back while Ashton stuck with Luke.

Maybe in a perfect world, the four boys could be friends. But Ashton knows life doesn't work out that way.

 ---

 "Tell me!" Luke rolls his eyes at Ashton's demand.

The two boys are sat down eating lunch under a large tree in the school's courtyard.

"I've already told you a billion times," he says. Ashton wants him to repeat the story of how he and Michael got together.

"Tell me again! I want to hear the story of how the oh so popular Michael Clifford, from every girl in this school's dreams, turned out to actually be bisexual and wanted to date you, of all people."

"Thanks for the self confidence booster man."

"Hush up with the dramatics."

"Says you."

"Oh just tell me again."

"Fine!" Luke sighs.

During the previous summer he was a counselor at a music camp for kids ages 10-14. The camp was a sleep away camp and It went on for about two months for the counselors. A new group of kids would feed in every two weeks but the counselors had to stay there the whole time. Luke's summer became very interesting once he discovered that Michael turned out to be a counselor as well. Luke has had a crush on Michael ever since he first saw the guy, but he wasn't expecting anything to happen. Michael was the most popular boy in school. At the camp, the counselors were supposed to help the kids learn how to play instruments. He and Michael were the counselors that taught guitar. It led to some bonding time.

"So you know about the camp and us both being the ones to teach guitar and blah blah blah. You know what I don't need to tell you the story because I'm sure you know it by heart," Luke says, causing Ashton to pout.

"Fiiiiinnnne," Ashton says exaggeratedly.

But Luke couldn't help but remember the first day of camp.

_He was in the room they had told him where he would be teaching guitar along with another counselor. He had already set up his guitar to an amp and was setting up some guitars that the camp had supplied before he heard someone else walk into the room._

_"Luke?" the person asked._

_Luke recognized the voice so he immediately attempted to turn around, but he only managed to succeed in tripping over a guitar falling face first towards the ground. Smooth._

_"Ow," he had groaned, squeezing his eyes shut before rolling over onto his back. "Are you okay?" the person asked. Their voice was closer. Luke opened his eyes to be met with a sight he never thought he would see. A concerned Michael Clifford standing over him with his guitar in hand. Michael's hair was green then._

_"Yeah, uh....... Hi Michael," he said awkwardly, attempting a smile. He knew he probably looked like the bride of Chucky, laying there on his back while grimacing in pain. But he tried. Michael chuckled, amused._

_"I didn't know you played guitar," Michael said helping Luke up._

_"There's a lot of things you don't know about me,"_

This led the two boys into deep conversation and it led Michael to show Luke how he could shred on the guitar. Which led to Luke bursting out how hot he thought Michael looked while doing that.

Over the two months they spent together at camp the two boys got to know each other very well and they eventually fell in love. Luke remembers how Michael had serenaded him before asking him to be his boyfriend and how he had practically squealed with happiness before saying yes. It was a great summer.

"LUKE!" Ashton called out, snapping the blonde boy out of his daze.

"Yeah?" "You were dazing out for like 5 minutes."

"Oh, was I?"

"Thinking of Michael?"

"Yeah....," Luke sighs happily.

"It's alright man," Ashton says patting his knee, "It's not everyday that someone hot and sexy like Michael Clifford goes for a dweeb like you," he finishes, getting up and starting to walk away.

"Hey!!" Luke whines, scrambling after the curly haired boy.

 ---

 "Luuuuke I can't do this," Ashton declared. It was after school and tryouts were going to start in 15 minutes. Ashton was in soccer shorts, a sleeveless black top, and his red bandanna was still taming his curls. He was ready with his cleats, socks, and shin guards on. But he, as usual, was nervous as he was sitting next to Luke on the bleachers.

"Yes you can," Luke says, adjusting his sunglasses. He already had made himself comfortable on the bleachers and was ready to watch tryouts.

"No I can't. I don't know anybody well so that makes me nervous and Calum's presence is making make me even more nervous. I'm going to mess up Luke. They're going to laugh at me."

"Ugh, don't let it make you nervous. You've been playing club for two and a half years and you're really good Ashton. Don't let him get in your head. Show him what he's missing and how well your doing without him. Be yourself Ashton. Be confident on that field. I know you can do if. And for the record, you do know somebody well."

"Who?" Ashton asks.

"Max. From your club team," Luke says pointing to the boy. Max was Ashton's closest friend from club. He was tan, had blonde shaggy hair, and green eyes. He was very nice and funny. Ashton likes Max. Max doesn't know about the Calum situation though. As far as Ashton knows, the only other person who knows about it is Luke. Ashton doesn't know if Calum has told Michael or not.

"I can't believe I forgot he went to this school! Okay, I feel better now. I'm going to be a beast on that field! Bye Luke," Ashton says hopping up and jumping off the bleachers.

"Bye Ash, I'll be here," Luke chuckles at his friend.

"MAX!!" Ashton shouts out jogging towards the big group of boys on the field.

"ASHTON!! Come to papa!" Max shouts jokingly opening his arms for Ashton to jump into.

"I'm right here daddy," Ashton laughs and dramatically jumps into Max's arms, wrapping his arms around his neck. Max grabs his waist with both hands and swings them around in a few circles before setting Ashton down. When he is finally back on the ground, Ashton notices that they had the full attention of the group of boys whom were also standing there, including Calum.

Ashton didn’t notice the flare of anger in Calum’s eyes once he jumped in Max’s arms, but Michael did. He knows about the situation between Ashton and Calum and he definitely feels sorry for them both. Ashton wasn't the only one hurt by the scenario. But that's besides the point. If he's being honest with himself, Michael's excited Ashton is going to be on the team. He thinks that Ashton and Calum need to get back in each others lives. This is the perfect opportunity for it.

"So you're finally reigning in those sport credits I see," Max says to Ashton as they start walking towards the other boys.

"Well, I had to sometime," Ashton says smiling at him. Max was a good friend.

"Well I'm glad you did, this team could use a guy like you."

"Thanks," Ashton says as they both approach the circle of boys.

"Alright boys, listen up!!" Max says throwing an arm around Ashton. Max was Luke's height and the best defender Ashton knew.

"If you don't already know, this guy right here is Ashton Irwin. He's on my club team and he's one of the best midfielders I know, as well as an awesome guy in general. So be nice to him. Interestingly enough, He happens to be a non-transfer junior. I know, your wondering if he's so amazing why didn't he try out for the team before. Well, apparently, he didn't feel like it. But be happy now because his lack of sports credits is forcing him to try out." Max says.

"Thanks for the overly long introduction babe," Ashton says to Max.

"Anytime sweet cheeks," Max winks.

The circle then dives into conversation, everyone excited for tryouts. Ashton catches a glimpse of vibrant red and he goes quiet, silently watching as Michael looks out into the bleachers for Luke. Ashton thinks their relationship was something truely beautiful. He knows that makes him sound like some sappy girl who is in love with some romance novel, but he doesn't care. He loves those books. He continues watching how they interact from afar. Watching as Luke, who looked bored, pipes up and waves excitedly once he noticed Michael's gaze. He watches as Michael gives the blue eyed boy a small wave back. He then watches Luke give Michael a double thumbs up with an adorable smile on his face as he mouths 'good luck' to the goalie. He also sees how Michael chuckles fondly at Luke before turning back towards the circle.

As he looks around the circle of smiling faces, Ashton realizes that in order to play his best he needs to put all the drama with Calum behind him when he is on the field. Calum is an extremely good player and if Ashton wants his team to win, he needs to ignore the stinging pain that he feels in his heart every time he looks at his face. So that's what he's going to do, when playing soccer he is going to focus on soccer and nothing else. He will act like Calum is just another player on the team, not the person who made his heart unrepairable. He can't let Calum matter to him anymore.

 --

 "Alright , good work boys! Go get some water and be back on the field in 5 minutes." Coach Darrel says. Michael and Calum jog to the spot on the bleachers where they put their water bottles.

"So, how do you feel about Ashton?" Michael asks Calum, before taking a sip from his water bottle.

"I think he's going to be a great addition to the team. He's really good," Calum says, giving his friend a vague answer.

"I know you're not stupid Calum. You know what I meant," Michael says. Calum sighs, he did know what Michael meant.

"The usual, but I'm trying to ignore it so that I can play well," he says. The usual meant the ever present guilt, pain, anger towards his parents, regret, and the sliver of joy he feels whenever he sees Ashton.

"I'm sorry man, I wish I could make it better," Michael says sincerely. But Calum knows he can't, nobody can. He shoots Michael an appreciative smile anyways. Michael understands.

"Michael! Calum!" Chad says coming over to them. The two boys internally groan. Nobody likes Chad. Chad is 6'1" and is a caramel-haired brown-eyed boy. He is extremely narcissistic and practically willing to fuck anything that moves. He also never holds back information on his sexcapades. If it was up to Calum, Chad would be off the team. But unfortunately, Chad is one of the better forwards on the team.

"Hey Chad. What's up?" Michael asks politely. Calum wants to burst out laughing.

"Okay, you know that junior that just joined the team, the really good one?" Chad asks, gesturing over to where Max, Luke, and Ashton were sitting.

"Yes... Ashton," Calum says, not liking the direction this conversation was going.

"Yeah him. Well he's fucking sexy. I mean I've seen him in the hallways before, I even bullied him along with Hemmings once or twice. But I never noticed how hot he was until just now on the field when he was sweaty and breathing hard. I mean I seriously am going to fuck him. I definitely want to pin him down, with him already hot and sweaty. I want to make him beg for me, and I definitely want to hear him scream my name." Chad tells them while eye-raping the curly haired boy.

Calum clenches his fists tightly. Refraining himself from strangling the narcissistic bastard.

"Cool," he mutters, before making his way back to the field.

Michael stays for a moment, taking another sip of his water as he watches Chad advance towards where Ashton was talking with Max and Luke on the bleachers. He sees Luke's hands start to shake at the sight of Chad coming towards them and Michael has to try really hard to not rush over there and comfort him. After watching Luke from afar and getting to know him better, Michael had discovered that Luke's hands start to shake whenever he is nervous or scared. Michael takes a few deep breaths before turning around and following Calum.

Ashton feels confused when he see's Chad coming towards where he was sitting with Luke and Max. Is he going to talk to him?

"Hey Ashton," Chad says casually. Ashton feels uncomfortable. In the past, whenever Chad has approached him and Luke, it never ended up well. But now, Chad is smirking at Ashton and it just feels weird.

"Hi...." He says awkwardly.

Coach Darrel blows his whistle right as Chad opens his mouth to speak and Ashton can't be more thankful. Chad makes Ashton feel nervous, but then again so does practically everyone recently. But Chad makes him feel extra nervous, in a bad way.

"Okay boys listen up," Coach Darrel says soon as everyone is huddled around him in the middle of the field, "We're going to do a simple goalie vs. striker drill. Everyone's going to get in a line and everyone's going to try to get a shot against Michael alright? Let's go!"

Michael smiled to himself as he went in goal. He loves goalie. He was good at reading where the ball was going to go and moving to it. Also, since he was goalie he wouldn't have to run much. Which is always a plus. Even though it wasn't planned, most of the Freshmen ended up in line first. Not that it mattered to Michael, none of them scored on him. Only one sophomore scored on him. It was not only because the sophomore was a really good player, but also because Luke ended up in Michael's line of sight, which distracted him. Then it came to the challenging people, the juniors and seniors. First was Max, Michael caught it. Then Ashton tried next, Michael nearly missed the ball but he ended up catching it. As the rest of the people go, Michael only doesn't get a few. Now, he is faced against the lone person in line. Calum. Calum was the captain of the team since last year. He is an amazing player, extremely skilled. He plays striker. He's the best one on the team. Their teammates, who knew them, watch the two best friends face each other with smiles on their faces. Michael vs. Calum is always a good game to watch.

"Ready for this Michael?" Calum asks teasingly, getting in the right position to take his shot.

"Hell yeah!! Bring it on bro!" Michael says and focuses on on the ball.

Calum looks at the goal and decides he'll just do something simple and and aim for the area just under the upper right corner.

Michael knows where Calum is going to aim, his dear friend accidentally looked at a certain place on the net for a long period of time. As soon as Calum kicks the ball, Michael leaps to his left and catches the ball mere centimeters before it hit the goal. Michael yells in success before throwing the ball on the ground and shouting at Calum.

"KISS MY ASS BITCH!" He yells and Calum flips him off before the two burst into a fit of laughter.

"How about I treat you to pizza at my house after practice in celebration of your amazing goalie skills?" Calum asks. "It's a deal!" Michael says.

"Okay boys! Back to tryouts, the last thing we'll be doing is just to see if any of you guys can play goal as well as Clifford over here. I'll put someone in goal, and they are trying to block Calum's shots. Alright? Go easy on em Hood. Move! Carter you're up first." Coach orders.

Ashton can feel his nerves start to rise, as he follows all the boys to watch Carter defend the goal against Calum. His mind flashes back to the image of Calum laughing on that dreaded day. To the moment where he was laying on Calum's chest, shirtless and covered in mud. To the blissful silence they had held in each other's presence. To the calm before the storm.

"Ash." He feels Max tap him.

"Yeah?" Ashton snaps out of his daze.

"Your in goal."

Ashton nods.

"Hey coach, If I tell you straight up that I suck at goal, do I still have to do it?" He asks.

"Yes, you do. Thanks for telling me though, I'll write it down."

Ashton couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not towards the end, but he decided not to care. He walks in front of the goal with his head slanted towards the ground, not wanting to look at Calum until he was ready. He got into position and took a deep breath before raising his gaze, looking straight at Calum. He gasps when his hazel eyes meets the familiar chocolate orbs full on for the first time in 2 years. He felt his gaze drift around Calum, his eyes tracing the lines of his matured facial structure, of his improved physique, of his everything. "

Oi!" Michael shouted. He can see that the two boys were getting lost in each other. He sighs to himself. Ashton and Calum were made for each other. He can see that they both want each other so badly. There's nothing worse then seeing people deny themselves of what they truly and desperately need.

Ashton shook his head and refocused on soccer.

"Ready?" Calum asks.

Ashton nods, ignoring the fact that that was the first word Calum had spoken to him since he had told him that he hated him.

 --------

 "Dude! You made it on first string! That's awesome!!!" Luke exclaims.

The two boys were in Ashton's room. Ashton is heading into the bathroom to take a shower and Luke is lounging on Ashton's bed with ice on his bruise, which was now an ugly deep purple color.

"I know," Ashton smiles, "I'm going to shower, then we can jam, alright?"

"Sounds good to me," Luke says. He gets up after Ashton enters the bathroom and he opens the curtain to the window facing Calum's. The windows were about 15-20ft apart. You had a clear view of the other persons room. Perfect for a peep show.

But as Luke looks through the window, the sight he see's baffles him. He saw Michael comforting a crying Calum.

'Why is Calum crying?' He wonders.

 ---------

  **|The Evening Before the Dreaded Day|**

_Calum smiled to himself as he began the walk across the street from Ashton's house back to his own._

_Calum had known his purpose for living for a very long time. It was to love and take care of Ashton. Calum always knew Ashton was the one for him. He never has felt anything for anyone else. Since he was very young, the only answer he's had to the questions of 'Who do you have a crush on? Who do you like?' Was Ashton. It was never boys vs. girls for him; he just wanted Ashton. His world was Ashton-centric. The little ray of sunshine was the source of his happiness._

_Calum sighed as he reached the front door, taking a deep breath before opening it. He was going to tell his mother about how he felt. He was kind of nervous though, because he didn't know how his parents felt about homosexuality. They never really talked about it. He hadn't even told them that Ashton was gay. But that was per Ashton's request, he wasn't comfortable with it. Personally, Calum never saw a problem with it. Calum was gay himself, or maybe he was bisexual. He didn't really know, he's just always loved Ashton. He hopes his parents won't have a problem with it. Just because he's in love with another dude, doesn't mean he's any less of a man._ _But he doesn't know how his parents view it. That worries him because based on past experiences, whenever Calum's parents don't like something they tend the go to extremes to eradicate it. But he isn't going to look at the downside, he can only think positively. If all goes well, he's going to tell Ashton how he feels. Ashton will be his prize._

_"Mom! I'm home!" Calum shouts, stepping inside his house and closing the door behind him._

_"I'm in the kitchen honey," her voice rings out._

_"Hi Mom," Calum says, entering the kitchen. His mother was unloading dishes from the dishwasher and drying them._

_"Hi Calum. How was Ashton's? What did you guys do?" His mother smiles at him._

_"It was good. We just hung out, like usual. He's coming over tomorrow to practice soccer with me, by the way."_

_"That's fine."_

_"Mom, uh..." Calum sighs._

_"What is it honey?" His mom asks, picking up another plate from the dishwasher and beginning to dry it with a dishrag._

_"Well... Er... I need to tell you something," he says._

_"Go ahead, tell me," she turns around to face him, still drying the plate in her hands._

_"I'm gay and I'm in love with Ashton."_

_His mom drops the plate. "_

_Mom?" Calum asks, his stomach dropped. He doesn't have a good feeling about this at all._

_"Clean that up. I'll talk to you when your father comes home. We'll deal with this then." She storms out the room._

_Fear fills up Calum. He can tell. They're going to do something big. They're going to something bad. They don't accept him._

 ---

  **| Normal time |**

The torturous image of Ashton running across the street crying replays in Calum's mind.

According to his parents, if they got rid of Ashton, they would get rid of his gayness. Yeah, that didn't work. They forced him to end their friendship. They forced him away from the person he loves most. He will never forgive them. He tried to refuse it. He told them no. But then His mom and dad told him that they were going to hurt Ashton, and then they were going to move away if he didn't. So he did. Cruelly and heartlessly. He can't possibly explain the amount of pain he felt doing that to Ashton, his love. The only thing he did to make himself feel slightly better was leave a note in Ashton's window. It said: _'I'm sorry, it was my parents. I'll always love you.'_ But he knows Ashton never read it, Ashton hasn't opened his window or curtains since the incident. It probably is still there.

"I-I miss him," he sobs into the arms of his best friend. Michael knows everything.

"Tell him," Michael says.

"He won't believe me. He hates me." Calum is struggling. Ever since his parents ripped Ashton out of his life, he _hasn't been able to breathe_ properly. Of course he didn't show it. He acted like a normal teenage boy around everyone else. The only person who ever saw through his act was Michael. Michael is always there for him. Anyone with eyes can see how Ashton was effected and Calum can't live with himself.

"Just start talking to him again."

"Why, so you can get closer to Luke in public with out it being weird?" Yes, Calum knew about Luke. He was very happy for Michael. They were good for each other.

"No. I think it will be good for you if you start talking to him. You're a junior in high school now, Calum. Your parents have nothing on you anymore."

"Thanks Michael," Calum says, wiping his last tear and giving his best friend a hug before separating.

"Anytime bro. Now let's turn on some jams and party," Michael cheers. Calum laughs at his crazy best friend and turns on some jams.

The starting notes to Stacey's Mom starts to ring out Calum's speakers and Michael lets out a shout of excitement. This song is his bitch. He leaps off Calum's bed and starts throwing out some of his best moves. Calum laughs and joins him. The two boys start to party hard for a few more songs until Michael notices something.

"Hey Calum?" He asks, immediately stopping his power solo and walking towards Calum's window.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Didn't you say Ashton never opens his curtains?"

"Yeah..."

"Well they're open," Michael says, looking straight into Ashton's room.

"Wait what?" Calum asks. Michael jumps onto Calum's bed while the raven haired boy fills his spot, looking out the window. Michael pulls out his phone to see a text from Luke. He opens up the message and he laughs. Luke was adorable.

"Aww.. Luke just texted me the most adorable thing," Michael gushes.

"What did he say?" Calum asks, giving up on finding out why Ashton's curtains are opened and joining his friend on the bed.

"I can see you two dancing like crazy over there. Please don't party too hard Mikey? We have school tomorrow."

Calum smiles to himself. Michael had the largest grin on his face when he was reading the text. He was so whipped.

"What a weirdo."

"Shut the fuck up. No he's not."

"Aww, you're right. He's such a cutie! I mean, talk about legs for days. I might just have to steal him from you."

Michael growled and pushed him off the bed.

  ---

 "Luke, you're crazy."

Luke laughs. He got inspired and now he was dragging Ashton to a 24-hour barber shop.

"You need a new start Ashton. So you're going to cut all that hair off and I'm going to get mine cut too."

"You're still crazy."

"Say goodbye to the man bun."

"Please don't."

"Kiss it goodbye Ash."

"Oh my god."

"Thank it for all its good times, but tonight, it's going to die."

"Luke."

"Rest in Peace, Ashton's man bun."

"You're such a dork."

"Oh wait, what was that? Me not giving a flying shit."

"Your shit flies?"

"Yeah, it's rainbow colored too."

"You're weird."

"So are you."

"Touché"

\--- 

"He looks so hot with his haircut." Calum says to Michael. They were standing on the opposite side of the hall from where Ashton was alone at his locker.

"Thanks for telling me bro," Michael says.

"So I just talk to him?"

"Yeah, go. I'll be right here."

"What do I even say?"

"Just say whatever pops into your mind."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Just do it."

"Okay," Calum takes a deep breath before advancing towards Ashton.

_"How come you never told me you were good at soccer?" Ashton hears the voice of his ex-best friend Calum ask._

_"Hmm... Let me think," he says, looking up from his locker, "Oh I know, it might have something to do with the fact that you haven't spoken a single word to me since the summer before freshman year."_

"I'm sorry,"

Ashton looks straight into Calum's eyes and is puzzled by the truth in them. But still, He's not going to give into Calum that easily.

"What are you trying to do here Calum? W-why are you talking to me now? What do you want from me?"

"I was hoping you'd listen to me please? I need to talk to you. I should've done this a lot sooner. I have a lot I need to explain."

"No shit. If you think I'm going to forgive you or even give you a piece of time to listen to your pathetic excuse of an explanation, you're mistaken." Ashton glares at Calum before slamming his locker shut and going to class.

Calum sighed, in defeat. But he refuses to be discouraged. He's not going to let his parents opinions rule his life anymore. He's going to get Ashton to listen to him one was or another. He was determined now.

 ---

 Ashton doesn't know how to feel about Calum talking to him. He doesn't know why, but instead of making him upset, hearing Calum talk to him made him happy. But he's still hurt. 

He's asked Luke about it and Luke says that Michael won't tell him anything about Calum talking to Ashton again. All he's said is that Calum really needs to talk to Ashton.

It now was after soccer practice and everyone was in the locker rooms. Ashton feels uncomfortable not only because he didn't want to show the bruises on his side from the beating he got from Gray today, but also because he felt Chad staring at him. Also the room was full of naked boys, however, that was kind of a plus. Anyways, he decides he's going to wait until almost everyone leaves till he showers.

He feels his phone vibrate and rolls his eyes when he see's what Luke texted him.

 **LukeASS:** _SEND ME A PIC OF MIKEY PLEASE!!!_

He texts him back.

 **sent:** _if you want nudes ask him yourself_

Ashton looks at his watch, and decides that it's now or never. He looks around the locker room, there's no one there. Perfect. He tugs off his practice jersey and shorts and boxers and wraps a towel around his waist. He turns around to walk to the showers and sees Chad standing a couple feet away, smirking at him. Chad looks him up and down before winking at him and leaving the room. Ashton shivered. The uncomfortable feelings and nervousness flow through again and he quickly turns and walks the other way to the showers. The showers were community showers.

Once he enters the showers, he hears someone sing. The voice immediately soothes his nerves and he immediately knows it's Calum. If Calum was in the shower, that would mean he was naked. Ashton felt a twitch in his dick. He sighs, not today. He starts thinking of sheep to calm it down. It works. Ashton hadn't ideally planned to be naked for one of his first interactions with Calum after the dreaded day. But he really needed to shower. Ashton was probably going to regret this, but he was going to go in. It was either the invitation to see Calum naked or his need to shower that urged him to do it.

He throws his towel next to what he assumes is Calum's and he smirks to himself before opening the curtain. If Calum wants to talk to him fine. Let him talk. Ashton's confidence drastically increases when he is in the presence of Calum. It has since he was little. But now, Ashton's angry. Calum can't just play with his feelings like he is a little rag doll. No. Now, it's time to show Calum just what he's been missing.

He steps in and closes the curtain behind him. His eyes land straight on Calum's ass. He walks to a shower head that was two away from the one Calum was using, and he turns it on. While he waits for the water to heat up, he gives in to his urge and treats himself by feasting his eyes with the sight of Calum Hood. The raven-haired lad was gorgeously handsome, tan skin glistening with the streams of water running down his muscular back. In addition to his great ass, his legs were muscular and toned. Ashton had to stop himself from fantasizing about the things he's let Calum do to him. His tattoos were a nice touch as well. Ashton saw that Calum was about to turn his head towards him so he quickly stepped under the water, rinsing his hair and washing it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Calum checking him out. However, unlike Chad, it didn't make him feel uncomfortable. In fact, it actually makes him feel slightly turned on. The fact that Calum was _watching him_ run his hands through his curly locks and watching him rub soap along his body, it made him feel powerful. He was making Calum look at him, look at what he's done, look at who he's ignored.

He hears Calum soon open the curtain and close it again. Ashton finishes up and walks out. As soon as he opens the curtain, he is met with the sight of Calum leaning against the wall, a towel around his waist. Ashton quickly picks up his towel and wraps it around his waist.

"Do you need something?" Ashton asks awkwardly.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about something," Calum says.

"Aren't you supposed to be 'never talking to me again'?"

"Just please let me talk to you Ashton?"

"Fine, but let's sit down first."

The two old friends fell into step next to each other as they walk towards the lockers, the feeling of walking beside each other being strangely familiar.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Ashton asks, sitting down on one of the long benches in between the rows of lockers.

"Yes, I have to tell you something," Calum says, sitting beside him.

"Go ahead," Ashton says. The feeling of Calum's presence beside him was also strangely familiar. He didn't know how to feel about it.

"I love you."

Ashton shoots his gaze up to meet Calum's. Was he serious?

"You can't just say that Calum. You can't just fucking rip my heart out and tear me into pieces. Say you love me two years later and expect me to be okay with it."

"But I do love you, Ashton. I always have."

"NO you FUCKING DON'T, you wouldn't of done this to me if you did." Ashton says angrily.

"I told my mom," Calum starts.

"Told your mom what?"

"The day before I did that to you, I-I told her that I was gay and that I- and that I was in love with you."

"What?" Ashton's anger faded, and was replaced with confusion. What did he mean?

"I had loved you for a long time and I was finally planning on asking you to be my boyfriend the next day. But when I told her how I felt about you, my mom had different plans. She dropped the plate she was holding and she made me clean it up. Then when my dad came home they both started to scream at me and degrade me. They asked me how did I know it, how did I know I was gay. So I told them that for me, it was always you. You were the only person I've ever had feelings for and I'd loved you for a very long time. They were furious. They then told me that in order to get rid of my gayness, they were going to get rid of you. They said I was to beat you up and make you hate me. I refused. So they gave me another option. They gave me a series of sayings I had to scream at you and make you cry. Call you a fag and say I don't want your disease. Say that I-I hate you. I couldn't, I wouldn't. I tried to refuse but they said if I don't do one of them they were going to beat you up themselves and then make us move away to America. I swear I didn't want to. I love you so much. Ashton please? I'm so so sorry. It tore me up. I literally have to see the effects of what I've done every single day. I'm so sorry" Calum picks up Ashton's hand and traces the scars on his wrist, tears streaming down his face.

Ashton lets him. He takes a few minutes to register what Calum has told him. He knows how Calum's parents were, whenever they didn't like something they went to the extremes. He could tell Calum was not lying. Which means everything he thought he knew about the boy next to him for the past two years was all a lie. He was still the same Calum he knew when they were kids. The same Calum he thought he was in love with. The same Calum he is still in love with. It is then that he knows what he needs to do. The best thing for the both of them. He realized that Calum had been hurt too. Maybe even more so than he did. It was like survivors guilt. Except for that he didn't die. But he nearly did. And Calum knew that and that he was the cause of it. It must of been torture for him. But Ashton was hurt too.

Calum feels a mix between elated and nervous. He just finally told Ashton about his parents. That lifts a huge weight off his chest. However he also told Ashton everything, including that he loves him. That's a scary thing. It leaves him vulnerable.

"Calum, I never thought I'd say this, but I forgive you," Ashton says. He feels Calum immediately stop tracing the scars on his wrist.

"You do?" Calum asks, looking up into his hazel eyes.

"Yes, I do." And he did. He also knows he loves Calum too, he always has. But he knows he can't get in a relationship with him yet, their friendship needs to repair first. The two years of pain isn't going to go unforgotten. The two boys need to find their groove again. They need to find a way to mesh with each other and re ignite their rhythm. Ashton honestly just feels so relieved. He feels tears brimming in his eyes and soon they start streaming down his face.

"Ash? Why are you crying? This is a good thing," Calum coos, moving his hand to hold Ashton's cheek, softly wiping away his tears with his thumb.

"It's just, I'm so relieved. I've needed you for such a long time. I-I thought you hated me. But you don't, you- you love me and I just feel so happy. I love you so so much Calum and it just tore me apart when you said that you hated me."

"I don't hate you, I promise. I love you." Calum says, standing up and pulling the smaller boy into a hug.

"Thanks Cal. I love you too. But let's try to build back our friendship before becoming anything more," Ashton says happily, feeling warm in Calum's arms.

"That's fine with me."

The two boys then walk out of the locker room smiling, talking, laughing, and just enjoying being in each other's presence. Things were finally looking up for the two. Without each other's presence, their lives felt strangely bereft. But now that they are communicating again, that feeling of bereavement is gone.

 ---

 "Does this mean I can be in public with Michael without it being weird?" Luke asks Ashton as they walk into school the next morning. He is happy that Ashton and Calum were friends again. He could tell how much Ashton cared for the boy. He is also excited to now be able to go to Michael's house with Ashton. It's going to be fun to spend time with both his boyfriend and best friend together.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure. I'd just act as we normally do," Luke sighs at Ashton's response. He just wants to see Michael.

The thing is, Luke's parents aren't exactly accepting of his sexuality. Well yes, they understand that he's gay and that he's still their son and what not. However, Luke feels alienated and invisible at his home. Ever since he told them he was gay, they have only talked business to him. His parents just pay attention to his brothers Jack and Ben. They don't even check in on him. Michael literally climbs into his window almost every night and cuddles with him for a good hour or two, maybe even longer on weekends. His parents don't know a thing. Luke could probably stay over at Michael's house for a week and they wouldn't know. It's a weird feeling, to not be forgotten yet completely ignored by his parents, by the one's who are supposed to love you most. Or at least, that's what society says. But society lies. That's another reason why the whole Michael ignoring him at school thing bothers him. It kind of feels like what his parents do. Luke hasn't even told Michael about the situation between him and his parents. But he's not going to tell him until Michael's ready because he knows Michael would feel unnecessarily guilty. Luke's not going to ask anything of Michael that he's not ready for. That'd be the last thing he wanted to do.

"I'm sorry buddy," Ashton says, rubbing his back. Luke looks down at the shorter boy and can't help but chuckle at the concerned look on his face. Ashton always cheers him up, even if he doesn't mean too, the boy always manages to make him smile.

"Aww Ash, your such a dad," he gushes pinching his best friends cheeks.

"No, I'm not!" Ashton whines, slapping his hands away.

"Fine fine have it your way. The bells about to ring, you go get us some seats in history. I'll be there in a second I just have to grab something from my locker really quick."

"Okay."

 --

“Ash?” Luke asks him. They were sitting at their regular lunch table in the cafeteria. They were the only two that ever occupied it.

“Yeah?” Ashton says, looking up at his best friend.

"Why is Max walking over to our table?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look up and you'll find out."

Ashton looks up and sure enough the muscular blonde boy was walking straight towards them.

"But nobody ever comes to our table..." He says confused.

"I know... That's why I asked you..." Luke trails off as Max arrives at their table.

"Hi boys," Max says, smiling at them. "Hi?" The two boys respond. Ashton looks around and he starts to grow nervous as he notices some people staring at them. Although he understands why they would, it's not everyday a member of the soccer team stands at the loser table.

"Ashton, you have to sit with us," Max says, grabbing his attention back.

"What?" He asks.

"You're on the school team now man, the team eats together."

"Basically, since your on the team now you have to go eat with them," Luke says plainly.

"No, I'm not going to unless Luke can sit with us as well," Ashton says.

"I'm sure he can, I don't think anyone will have a problem with it," Max says thoughtfully.

"Yeah, anyone except for Drake, Gray, Chad, and friends," Luke says frowning.

"Oh come on Luke, it will be fine, just stick with me and Ashton," Max says.

Ashton looks at Luke, silently asking if it was okay with him. Luke sighs, and nods. At least he'll be sitting at the same table as Michael.

"Okay great! I'll go get you guys some seats." Max smiles and walks back towards his table.

"Well that was new," Ashton says.

"Yeah, looks like things are going to be different," Luke says. The two boys then pick up their bags, grab their lunches and start to walk over to the soccer team's table.

It was either going to be great or it was going to be hell, Luke thinks. Michael could interact with him, or he could just be ignored like he is at home.

"People are staring at us," Ashton says to him quietly as they grew ever closer to the table. Luke can feel his best friend growing nervous.

"It will be fine," Luke says reassuringly. Ashton knows he didn't necessarily mean it, but it's the thought that counts.

"Don't be like that to me, your hands are shaking, Luke." Luke sighs, his hands always shook whenever he was scared or nervous. It was a dead give away.

"Well I'm scared, Ash. A lot of people at that table like to take out their frustrations on me."

"It will be fine, and anyways there's no turning back now," Ashton says as the two boys finally approached the table.

"Hi guys!" Max says happily. There were two open seats on the table, one in between Max and Michael, and the other across from it next to Calum, whom was sitting across from Michael. Across from Max was a guy named Scar, well it was his nickname. The guy was a great defender and he was nice to Ashton and Luke. Scar was Max's best friend.

"Why the fuck is Hemmings here? Shouldn't you be beat up by now?" Tanner pipes up from the other end of the table, rising a couple chuckles. That's where Drake, Chad, and friends were sitting.

Luke sighs. He knew nothing good would have come out of this.

"Quit it. Leave him alone," Michael says, silencing them. He ignores their questioning looks and lets his eyes drift over onto his boyfriend. He immediately notices that Luke's hands were shaking.

"Where do we sit?" Ashton asks quietly. Michael stays quiet.

"Uh, how about Luke sits next to me and Ash sits next to Calum and Scar," Max says.

Luke's hand immediately intertwined with Michael's under the table as soon as he takes a seat. Ashton and Calum's reunited friendship will bring about a lot of changes. Luke's not too sure whether he's excited about them or not.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a 2-part thing. The next part will be more risky, sexy, and will have a lot more action. Please comment what you think? What do you want to happen? Whos going to kill me for not including a single kiss in the first part? (don't worry, I'll make up for it in the second). Love you guys! Thanks for being patient with me.


End file.
